Trigger safety device for firearms



Dec. 1, 1959 T. H. WILLENBACHER 2,914,877

'TRIGGER SAFETY DEVICE FOR FIREARMS Filed April 7, 1958 FIG. I

- /N VEN TOR Thomas/i MY/enbac/rer Maw ATTORNIES Unite Stts PatentTRIGGER SAFETY DEVICE FOR FIREARMS Thomas H. Willenbacher, EastWorcester, N.Y.

Application April 7, 1958, Serial No. 726,735

2 Claims. (Cl. 42-70) My invention relates to firearms and particularlyto a safety device therefor.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a safety device for afirearm of the type which is fired from the shoulder and which is alwayson except when the firearm is in a position to be fired. Another objectis to provide a device of this character having means adapted tocooperate therewith which will prevent the safety from being moved tothe off position even when the firearm is in a position to be fired.

I accomplish these and other objects by the means described below andillustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a more orless diagrammatic view of the trigger of a firearm and my safety devicecooperating therewith. There are other parts of the firearm but I haveshown only those parts which properly illustrate how my inventionfunctions; and

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the portion of Fig. 1 immediately below it.

Referring to the drawing, 1 and 2 are the upper and lower tangs,respectively. 3 is the trigger which is pivoted at 3, and 4 is thetrigger guard. 5 is the firing pin connector, 6 is a bar which ispivotally connected to the trigger at 7 and which serves to release thefiring pin when the trigger is pulled. 8 is a spring which, incooperation with the bar 6, pulls the trigger forward after the fire armhas been fired. Pivotally connected to the lower tang at 9 or to someother portion of the fire arm is a safety catch 10 which is providedwith a notch 11 therein and which cooperates with the rearwardlyextending portion 12 of the trigger to prevent its being pulled back tofire while the part 12 is in the notch 11. 13 is a spring whichcooperates with the catch 10. 14 indicates generally the safety releasemeans which is pivotally connected at 15 to the catch 10. The safetyrelease 14 comprises a lower section 16 and an upper section 17 whichare pivotally connected together at 18. The portion 17 extends throughthe upper tang and is provided with a safety button 19 at the topthereof which may be pushed down against the spring 13 into the socket20. In order to have the button properly aligned with the recess 20 thelower edge of the button is always within the recess. In order toprevent the spring 13 from forcing the rod 14 upwardly so that thebottom of the button 19 is outside of the recess 20 I provide a pin 21in the upper portion 17 of the rod which prevents the rod from beingforced upwardly beyond the point where the pin contacts the bottoms ofthe upper tang. Slidably mounted in recess 23 in the upper tang, just tothe rear of the recess 20, is a second safety device 22. The front endof the device 22 is provided with a portion 24 which can be slid underthe button 19 so that the button cannot be pressed downwardly. Thebottom of the device 22 is provided with two semi-spherical recesses 25therein, and a small spring 26 having a ball on the top thereof PatentedDec. 1, 1959 which is adapted to fit in either of the recesses 25 in thebottom of the safety device 22 is disposed in a cylindrical recess inthe tang.

While I have illustrated my invention as attached to a firearm havingupper and lower tangs, it can be attached to guns that are not providedwith such tangs. The important feature is to have the trigger releasebutton so located so that the thumb of the shooter will automaticallyoverlie it and depress it when he is about to shoot. In other words, thebutton is in the hand grip of the firearm. It is understood that it isto be centrally disposed so that the thumb of either a right-handed or aleft-hand shooter will automatically overlie it.

What I claim is:

1. In a firearm of the type that is fired from the shoulder; a triggerhaving a rearwardly extending portion at the top thereof; a safety catchpivotally mounted below said portion and having a notch therein in whichthe end of said portion is receivable; a spring cooperating with saidcatch and biased to urge said catch into a position where the end ofsaid portion of said trigger lies in said notch and prevents saidtrigger from being pulled; a safety release means comprising anupstanding rod formed of a lower and an upper section which arepivotally connected together in substantially aligned relation and thelower section of which is pivotally connected to said catch; said uppersection of said rod being provided at the top thereof with a buttonhaving the lower portion thereof seated in a socket in the hand grip ofsaid firearm where the thumb of the trigger pulling hand of the shooterwill automatically overlie and depress said button and release saidcatch when the shooter brings the firearm into shooting position.

2. In a firearm of the type that is fired from the shoulder; a triggerhaving a rearwardly extending portion at the top thereof; a safety catchpivotally mounted below said portion and having a notch therein in whichthe end of said portion is receivable; a spring cooperating with saidcatch and biased to urge said catch into a position where the end ofsaid portion of said trigger lies in said notch and prevents saidtrigger from being pulled; a safety release means comprising anupstanding rod formed of a lower and an upper section which arepivotally connected together in substantially aligned relation and thelower section of which is pivotally connected to said catch; said uppersection of said rod being provided at the top thereof with a buttonhaving the lower portion thereof seated in a socket in the hand grip ofsaid firearm where the thumb of the trigger pulling hand of the shooterwill automatically overlie and depress said button and release saidcatch when the shooter brings the firearm into shooting position; andmeans for locking said safety device comprising an element slidablymounted in said hand grip adjacent said button and movable into aposition beneath said button to prevent downward movement of saidbutton.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS338,189 Potter Mar. 16, 1886 465,764 Jenkins Dec. 22, 1891 1,230,973Yeaton June 26, 1917 1,239,920 Larson Sept. 11, 1917 2,380,140 AndersonJuly 10, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS 3,789 Great Britain 1893 3,274 GreatBritain 1895

